A Southern California products.
The Bee & Co. storefront at Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga Park is now covered and appears to be vacant. A lockbox was hung on the door on Sept. 24, and only a faint outline of the store’s name is visible.
The closure comes after months of reporting from CBS California Investigates on allegations that Bee & Co. employees targeted vulnerable shoppers and pressured them into purchasing expensive skin care
CBS LA
Victor Chisholm and Gabe Cota, who both have intellectual disabilities, spoke with CBS California Investigates about their experiences at Bee & Co. They said they were approached at the Westfield Topanga mall by a woman who offered them samples and compliments before encouraging them to enter the store.
The men alleged that an employee later took them into a back room for a skin treatment and pressured them to purchase creams and devices. Between Chisholm and Cota, their purchases totaled more than $60,000.
“At one point, [the salesperson] said that she won’t take no for an answer,” Cota said.
Chisholm said he did not understand how much he would be paying for the products.
“I didn’t know it would actually cost that much,” he said, noting that he did not intend to spend over $50,000.
He also said the store’s employees would not let him leave until he agreed to buy the products.
For months, CBS California Investigates has documented Bee & Co. employees at Southern California malls approaching potential customers, offering samples and encouraging shoppers to enter the stores.
Bee & Co.’s parent company, Mazal Group, is based in Chatsworth. Mazal is linked to other stores operating under different names at malls in Southern California and elsewhere in the country, including Introstem, Rachel’s Best Soaps and The Soap Tree.
The allegations have drawn attention from Sherman Oaks Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat whose 32nd Congressional district includes Westfield Topanga.
“This is not what should be going on in our malls,” Sherman said.
When asked whether state officials or law enforcement should examine the allegations, Sherman said he planned to bring the matter to the attention of California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the circumstances involving Chisholm’s interactions with Bee & Co. employees, according to information obtained by CBS California Investigates.
It is unclear whether Westfield removed Bee & Co. from the mall. When asked by CBS California Investigates to comment on the store’s apparent closure, the company said in a statement it is “actively addressing this matter.”
Employees at neighboring stores told CBS California Investigates that Bee & Co. workers suddenly covered the store’s windows and left the location last week.
Chisholm’s attorney, Fred Voigtmann, said the closure of the Westfield Topanga location will not end his efforts to pursue additional allegations legally.
“Based on the amount of people who’ve reached out to me, this is something that we’re going to keep after,” Voigtmann said.
He said he has spoken with other people who have described similar experiences.
“There’s a lot of shame and pretty much every person I’ve talked to broke down crying on the phone about what happened to them,” Voigtmann said.
Voigtmann characterized the allegations as more serious than ordinary buyers’ remorse, calling the conduct “fraud” and saying the people involved were taken advantage of.
Bee & Co.’s attorney disputes that characterization.
A day after a CBS California Investigates interview with Voigtmann, Bee & Co.’s attorney, Neville Johnson, sent a letter calling CBS California Investigates’ coverage “a one-sided and misleading account of the Chisholm matter.”
The letter said the coverage excluded information about Chisholm’s purchases at other stores throughout the mall and claimed he is “prone to making large purchases at multiple stores.”
It also alleged that Chisholm “sexually harassed Bee & Company employees.”
Voigtmann responded in a letter of his own, calling the harassment allegation “baseless.”
He described the company’s claim as an attempt to deflect from what he called “despicable and likely criminal behavior” by Bee & Company and its employees.
Chisholm said he was also pressured to send more than $10,000 in tips through Cash App and Zelle, in addition to paying for the products.
In their letter, Bee & Co.’s attorney attributed those payments to a “rogue employee” who was not authorized to receive independent transactions and is no longer employed by the store.
However, Chisholm’s receipts show that he also sent money to the store manager.
